


The Race back to Berk

by PrinceBrigan



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hiccup get's hurt, I can no longer write concise fics, Race to the Edge Season 6 Episode 13 alternate Ending, Stoick being a good father, Toothless doesn't much care for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 05:03:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceBrigan/pseuds/PrinceBrigan
Summary: When Hiccup get's injured during the final fight with Johann and Krogan, it ends up in a fight for his life. With both the Chief and the acting Chief down, what is Berk to do? And what are the dragon riders to do when the life of their leader is dancing on the edge of death?





	The Race back to Berk

Hiccup groaned as he was flung onto the ground, Johann on top of him. Still stunned, Johann landed a few good punches, managing to slam Hiccups head into the ground before pulling out the knife at his wrist. Hiccup gasped, trying to find a way out of the situation. He managed to pull up an arm, blocking Johann from going for his neck, only to feel a sharp pain in his side. Adrenaline kicked in, he punched Johann, groaning when the knife in his side got pushed down as Johann rocked to the side. He swept his foot underneath Johann, effectively knocking him off his feet.

 

Getting up he looked down, yup, that was definitely a knife stuck in his side. He took a few steadying breaths before bending down to grab the dragon egg, only for it to be knocked out of his hand by the bolas that Krogan threw at it. He didn’t even think for a moment before he pulled out Inferno and ran after the egg, lighting it and sticking it in the ice as he jumped off the cliff, managing to grab the egg between his legs, Inferno keeping him dangling… for now. Hiccup looked up, trying his best to grip the knife through the pain, watching as Johann and Krogan peered over the edge towards him.

 

Johann started to speak, but at that moment, the King of Dragon’s roared, sending an icy breath up towards them, knocking the two backwards, Hiccup doing everything in his power to keep the egg safe, and himself from letting go of the hilt. It was difficult. Now, being able to assess the situation, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on. He gripped the hilt with both hands, trying to relieve some of the pressure on his side. He knew keeping the knife in his side was keeping the blood in his body, but the more he moved, the more the knife cut. It might be prudent to pull it out, but at this moment, he was afraid if he did, he would let go of Inferno. Moments passed in silence, Hiccup praying to the gods that someone, anyone would find him before Krogan, and Johann showed back up.

 

Of course, the gods weren’t listening as he heard the chuckle of both men, peering back at him over the edge of the cliff.

 

“My Hiccup, what a predicament you have yourself in. I fear you won’t be able to hold on for long, not with my dagger stuck in your side. It’ll only be a matter of moments before you plummet to your death. All the better for me I’m afraid. You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long… _Master Hiccup._ ”

 

Hiccup hated the way Johann sneered that title, he hated everything that came out of Trader Johann’s mouth as of late, and he truly hated him for stabbing him with his dagger.

 

“Johann, whether I live or die doesn’t matter. You will pay for what you have done. Even without me, the Dragon Riders… No _all_ of Berk will be after you. Oh man, once Stoick the Vast hears about this, you’ll be wishing that you had never tried to fight us in the first place.”

 

“Silly Hiccup. That fool of a Chief will not be able to do a thing to me, it’ll be his head on a spear next.”

 

“Don’t you DARE speak about my father like that. He’s twice the man you’ll ever be.”

 

Johann laughed, clearly unaware of the severity of his punishment should Hiccup die today.

 

“I think it’s time I got rid of you once and for all. Good bye Hiccup.”

 

Johann raised his spear, ready to strike Hiccup where he stood. He was ready for it, ready for this to end. He knew coming into this that he might not make it out alive. Astrid was going to kill him for sure once she found out, but she would manage without him. She was a strong Viking, a brilliant one, cunning as ever. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, expecting the spear to strike him down when he heard that familiar whistling noise. He opened his eyes just in time to see a purple blast hit Johann and knock him off the edge, nearly clipping him. Hiccup looked down, frowning. Why did it always have to end this way?

 

“Bud, can you hurry it up?”

 

Hiccup’s strength was truly leaving him, his felt his grip on Inferno loosening. He didn’t have much longer before he joined Johann at the bottom of this cavern. He heard Krogan yell, leaping towards Toothless. Hiccup couldn’t tell what was going on, but he hoped Toothless was winning. It only took a few moments before he heard a heavy thud, silence, then a tail dropping next to him.

 

“Oh, thank Thor.”

 

He grabbed onto Toothless’ tail, the dragon pulling him up. When he hit the top he collapsed, Toothless worriedly circling him.

 

“Bud, I need you to pull this knife out of my side, please, hurry.”

 

Toothless whined, not wanting to hurt Hiccup.

 

“Toothless hurry!”

 

Toothless whined again, taking a moment to before grabbing the hilt of the dagger with his teeth and pulling. Hiccup nearly screamed, the pain becoming unbearable. He placed his hand over the wound, the gash much worse than it should have been. Toothless, slid his wing underneath Hiccup, gently pulling him onto his back.

 

“Toothless, the egg.”

 

Toothless grabbed the egg in his mouth before running out of the cave, trying to be as careful as he could with his rider on his back. Outside they were greeted with the cheers of the other dragon riders as they landed, at least until Astrid noticed that Hiccup was not sitting up like he should have been, and Toothless’ eyes were terrified.

 

“Hiccup!”

 

Astrid ran over to him, crouching down next to him.

 

“Hiccup what happened?”

 

“Johann. Dagger. Side.”

 

It was getting hard for him to talk, his vision turning black on the edges. His hand was doing very little to staunch the blood loss, and after the adrenaline wore off all he could feel was pain. Astrid gasped when he looked over and saw Hiccup’s hand covered in his own blood, clenching at the wound.

 

“Oh gods. We have to get him back to Berk! Ruff, Tuff, take Toothless, I’ll take Hiccup on Stormfly. Fishlegs and Snotlout, take another once over of the island, just to make sure. Meet us back on Berk when you’re done… and be careful.”

 

Astrid pulled Hiccup off Toothless, much to the Dragons dismay, he whined, wanting to stay as close to Hiccup as he could. Astrid just looked at him, her eyes filled with worry.

 

“I have him Toothless. I can’t fly you with him like this, I’m sorry.”

 

Stormfly bent down to give Astrid and easier time as she placed Hiccup on her, saddling up moments later.

 

“Dragon Riders, move out!”

 

Stormfly took off, Barf and Belch following behind with Toothless. Hiccup could barely see at this point, he could barely breath. He really didn’t know if he was going to make it out of this alive. 

 

“A…strid.”

 

“Be quiet Hiccup, save your strength.”

 

“Astrid… I love you. Please… T-take care of Toothless.”

 

“Shut up Hiccup! Don’t you dare say you goodbye.”

 

Hiccup couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t see, he closed his eyes, taking a breath before passing out.

 

“Hiccup! Hiccup, wake up dammit! You can’t do this to me. You can’t leave me, you can’t leave Berk.”

 

Astrid looked down at the unconscious Hiccup. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Tears welled in her eyes, this couldn’t be happening, not again.

 

“Stormfly, quickly!”

 

Stormfly bent forward, soaring quicker than she ever had before.

 

It felt like it took forever to get back to Berk. Berserker Island wasn’t exactly close but on the back of a dragon flying at her absolute fastest, it still took way too long. Astrid knew she was pushing Stormfly, Barf, and Belch, but it seemed that none of them minded. The twins kept assuring her that their dragon was okay. The dragon’s seemed to understand the severity of the situation.

 

Astrid was barely over Berk before she was yelling for someone to fetch Gothi and bring her to the Haddock hut. Gobber took one look at Barf and Belch carrying Toothless and knew that something was very, very wrong. He hobbled as fast as he could after them, Astrid touching down in front of Hiccup’s home. Taking great care in picking him up and moving him to his bed up the stairs. She just looked at him, unsure of what to do. He was so incredibly pale, and his chest barely moved. She couldn’t believe this was happening again.

 

The door downstairs burst open, Gothi and Gobber clamoring their way up the stairs.

 

“Astrid, what’s happened?”

 

“Hiccup, he’s injured, badly. I… I wasn’t there. All I know is he was stabbed in the side, he’s lost a lot of blood. Please Gothi, please save him!”

 

Gobber frowned, placing his hand on Astrid’s shoulder.

 

“Come on lass, let’s head to the great all and get you something to drink. Let Gothi work.”

 

Astrid didn’t want to move, but she knew that Gobber was right. She nodded slowly before heading down the stairs, glancing at Stoick’s room, the door closed with their chief out for the count. Unbelievable, both the Chief and the acting chief were down. The prognosis on both of them seemed grim as well… What were they going to do? Was the Haddock chief line going to end? She shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her mind. Hiccup was going to live, Stoick as well. Those were two of the most stubborn Viking’s she had ever met, they weren’t going to go down without a fight.

 

Outside the hut she was met with the twins, who for once, didn’t seem to be playing around, most of the time when Hiccup was hurt, it was a scratch or two, nothing ever very serious. But looking at the state of Toothless, everyone knew that what happened to Hiccup, wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Stormfly, Barf, and Belch were trying to keep Toothless from running into the house, but he was frantic, snarling at them, this was a dangerous situation, trying to keep a night fury from his rider. Astrid sighed, she knew how Toothless felt, and perhaps if she was a dragon, she’d be acting in a similar fashion.

 

“Toothless, come here.”

 

Astrid crouched down, waiting for Toothless to come to her. She knew from experience, if you went to a dragon in this state, she’d probably end up next to Hiccup. Toothless took a moment before calming down just enough to go to Astrid. Astrid put her hand on Toothless nose, looking him in the eyes.

 

“We both know Hiccup, we both know that he’s one of the most stubborn Vikings on Berk. Sure, he looks scrawny, but he’s strong. You gotta hold out for him. Gothi needs space to look over him. Can you do that for me? Hiccup would never leave you.”

 

Toothless whined, his eyes darting to the front door, and back to Astrid.

 

“Come on Toothless, let’s go to the great hall. I promise, the minute that we are able to go see Hiccup, you can go to him, but for right now, just give him the space that he needs.”

 

Toothless gave in, lowering his head. Astrid leaned forward and hugged him, letting him know that she was there, and she was as hurt as he was. Toothless didn’t have to go this alone. Standing up, she started to make her way to the great all, noticing the blood that was on Toothless scales, she’d need to clean that up when they got there.

* * *

 

A while later Fishlegs and Snotlout came through the great hall doors, noticing their friends sitting in solemn solitude at a table, mugs of mead in front of them. Astrid was off to the side with a cloth, cleaning up Toothless. The two of them frowned, heading towards the table themselves, dragons following them.

 

“How’s Hiccup doing?”

 

Astrid turned and looked at Fishlegs, not bothering to say anything before going back to clean Toothless.

 

Tuffnut shrugged, taking a drink.

 

“Don’t know. Gothi has been with H for a while now. Gobber went to go check on him but nearly got pounded himself by Gothi. You don’t think Hiccup is gonna die, do you?”

 

Ruffnut punched him, sniggering.

 

“Tuff, if Hiccup didn’t get killed by jumped off the side of a cliff expecting two pieces of fabric to keep him in the air, I don’t think this is going to kill him.”

 

“You guys know how often I bullied him when we were younger, when he was still Hiccup the Useless. He’s as stubborn as Yak, this won’t do him in.”

 

Snotlout nearly grumbled the sentence, but everyone there knew that somewhere in that tiny heart of his, he did care for Hiccup, even if he never showed it.

 

Fishlegs got up and went to grab him and Snotlout mugs of mead as well, the former nodding to him when the mug was placed in front of him.

 

“How long has she been doing that?”

 

“A while, I think the both of them are so out of it though that neither notice that Hiccup’s blood is off of Toothless. I think it may be comforting, for both of them.”

 

The group descended into silence, most of the time the twins were able to keep the mood up, but it was hard even for them. Their lives changed drastically because of Hiccup, all of theirs. Without him and his stubborn nature and unwillingness to fight dragons, they wouldn’t have gone on as many awesome adventures as they had over the past year. None of them would have met their dragons, wouldn’t have created these unlikely friendships. It was hard to think of a world without the one-legged boy, and none of them really desired to either.

 

Another hour passed without word. Spitelout came in, uncharacteristically checking on how Snotlout was doing, asking what was going on. If the village didn’t know when Astrid came in screaming bloody murder for Gothi, then they certainly knew now, and someone needed to tell them what was really going on. It wasn’t long before Gobber came in, a grim look on his face.

 

“Gothi has done all she can. He’s resting now, but she’s not certain if he’ll make it through this.”

 

Astrid stood up, Toothless following her. She didn’t care what else Gobber had to say, she needed to see Hiccup, and needed to see him now. The minute she stepped out of the great hall she sprinted towards Hiccup’s hut, racing up the stairs towards Hiccup. He looked to be in no better condition. He was still deathly pale. He no longer wore his armor and tunic, bandages wrapped around his torso. His face was showing signs of bruising, a bandage around his head too. Clearly whatever happened in that cave, was no simple battle.

 

Next to her Toothless laid his head gently on Hiccup’s legs, the softest whine coming from him. The last time that Toothless saw him like this, was after they fought the Red Death, but at least that time the people around him didn’t look so grim. Astrid collapsed next to him, trying to fight back tears, but it was next to impossible. She loved Hiccup, love him more than anything, and now there was a chance that she’d have to spend her life without him. Toothless glanced at her, extended his wing and covering her with it, hoping that whatever was going on, at least he would be able to give a little comfort.

* * *

 

A week passed by with no sign of anything from Hiccup. Stoick had woken up and nearly got on his dragon to go find the people responsible. Fortunately, the Riders managed to calm him down enough to tell them that they were a problem no more, Hiccup made sure of it. At least something was going right on Berk, their chief had woken up and none of them had to worry about what was going to happen next should both pass. Stoick was still in no state to do his chiefly duties, but it didn’t stop him from having Hiccup moved to his bed, at least then he could sit by his sons side. Gothi nearly clobbered him for that. For moving Hiccup, and for getting out of bed. He just waved her off and continued to sit in his chair, he was awake and well, and he wasn’t going to go anywhere.

 

Toothless hadn’t left Hiccup’s side either, Astrid or one of the other riders making sure that food was brought to him. They tried to get him to go outside, to stretch his wings a little, but he wouldn’t move. He was just as worried, if not more worried, than the two humans that were closest to Hiccup. Truthfully, Stoick was glad he was there. It gave Stoick peace of mind that they both meant so much to each other. He knew Hiccup had a hard childhood, he wasn’t the greatest of fathers either, but he was trying to make up for it. He knew that Toothless was Hiccups first best friend, the one creature on this Earth that loved Hiccup for who he was and didn’t hate him for what he wasn’t.

 

Having him there gave Stoick peace of mind, at least if Hiccup was to wake, he would wake up to the face of the dragon that started it all, to the face of the dragon that saved his life, in more ways than one.

 

Another week passed, and things were only looking worse for Hiccup. Stoick, to his utter dismay, was able to leave the house and begin his duties again. Several times through that week he got tackled by a screaming Night Fury, Stoick immediately stopping whatever he was doing and going to fetch Gothi. He lost track of how many times Hiccup stopped breathing, lost track of how many times Hiccup started screaming in absolute agony, thrashing, making his wound even worse. Astrid was looking worse with each time he saw her. The bags under her eyes grew, the worry in her face only increased. It didn’t stop her from doing her duties. She was a strong girl, but this, this is what might break her.

 

Stoick did what he could, he went to talk to her parents, to let them know what was going on. He talked to her, trying to get her to cheer up, just a little. It was a difficult task, but Astrid wasn’t one to push away help, not in times like these. She thanked Stoick every time, let him know that she was going to be alright. Close to the end of that week though, he’d had enough. He forced her to stop what she was doing, had Gothi make a sleeping medicine, and gave her parents the task of forcing her to drink it.

 

When Hiccup woke up, which Stoick knew he was going to, he didn’t want him to see his betrothed looking like she hadn’t slept a wink. He was mildly worried that Astrid was going to be upset with her for forcing something like that onto her, but the next morning she came to him, looking much better than she had the day before.

 

“Stoick, I want to thank you. For what you did yesterday. I admit, I haven’t been sleeping, truly it’s been hard but I’m so worried for him.”

 

Stoick put a hand on her shoulder, leading her into his hut and having her sit.

 

“Astrid, child. I understand how hard this must be for you. After all, your relationship with my son is still so fresh. But I need you to understand something, Hiccup, he’s strong, he’s much stronger than I will ever be. He will make it through this, and when he wakes up, I want him to see all of us standing there, looking our best. I don’t want him to fret over him causing you to lose sleep, for him to go mad over the fact that you were worried about him. We know how the boy can be. He loves you more than the sun itself, he worries about you, but he doesn’t like it when anyone worries about him. Afraid of burdening them, I guess. A silly notion, we all worry, I worry the most about him.”  
  
Astrid nodded, looking towards the door to Stoick’s room.

 

“I know. I’m sorry, really, I am. I’ll try to be better about this. It’s comforting to know that at the very least, Toothless is going to be the first thing that he sees, and honestly, I think that is what would make him happier than anything. But we have to keep fighting for him. We have to make sure that when he wakes up, this village and its dragons are well cared for, fed, and happy. That, is what will make him happier than anything, to know that despite him being down, we were still strong enough to move forward.”

 

Stoick laughed, nodding his head.

 

“That’s my son. Despite running away from any chief training I try to do, he is already a chief at heart. He was Chief of the Edge, even if he didn’t realize it. Berk is important to him, it’s people, it’s dragons. Now go Astrid, go do your duties, and keep Hiccup in your heart. He will wake up, and we’ll all be waiting for him.”

* * *

 

Pain, all he felt was pain. Pain radiating from everywhere. He didn’t know where he was, what happened to him, anything. All he knew was pain. For some reason he couldn’t open his eyes, despite wanting to, despite trying to figure out if he was on a hunter’s ship, or on the edge in his bed, he needed to wake up, to feel like he was safe. He did feel something on his legs, a pressure, an oddly familiar one. He tried to move, tried to do anything, but his body wasn’t responding, refused to respond more like it.

 

He took a few moments to try and calm his mind, to figure out where the pain was coming from, to try and figure out the pressure on his legs. His side, that’s where most of it came from, and his head, he had a splitting headache. It took a few moments to remember why he was in so much pain, the images of the battle with Johann flashed through his head, the eyes of Toothless filled with worry as he unwillingly pulled the dagger from his side.

 

Toothless… that was the pressure, Toothless was there with him. That made his mind ease a little, didn’t help much with the pain however. So, he knew two things, Toothless was with him, and he was more than likely back on Berk. Great, that’s just great. He couldn’t do anything… What about his dad? Was he still alive? No, he was, he had to be. He was his dad, the strongest Viking this side of the archipelago. He tried to calm himself, tried to move any part of his body, it didn’t yield to him. This… this was frustrating. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been out for, but he could only assume it was far too long.

 

He focused on Toothless, the pressure on his legs, he could still feel, that much was apparent. He felt sorry for him, sorry for leaving him for so long, sorry for worrying the poor creature. He hated it when Toothless was sad, that dorky lopsided grin is what belong on Toothless’ face, not worry. He tried to clear his mind, tried to forget about the pain. That was more difficult, it radiated through his body. He snapped from his focus when he heard a door open, he must be in his fathers room.

 

Large footsteps echoed, that… that must be his dad. He heard the squeak of a chair being placed by his bed, a grunt as he sat. Hiccup so dearly wanted to wake up, to see his dad sitting there.

 

“Hiccup, son… Everyone’s worried about you, I’m worried about you. I know you’re going to pull through this. You have you, you wouldn’t leave Berk chiefless, despite all your reservations and running away. We both know who you are deep down. I know you’re scared for me to pass down the torch, but you’re going to make the finest chief that Berk has ever known. Toothless the poor fellow, he hasn’t left your side this entire time. I can see now just how much Toothless loves you, just how much you love him. You’ve changed so much over the course of these past six years. You worried me in the beginning, the dragons were hard to control, the villagers even harder to convince. But you’ve done so much, you’ve been to so many places, and you’ve risked your life so often to keep us all safe.”

 

He felt Stoick grab his hand, squeezing it.

 

“I love you son. Please come back to us, we miss you.”

 

Hiccup’s heart lurched. He knew his dad loved him, but sometimes he didn’t show it in the most conventional ways. Hearing his dad speak to him like this, it hurt, he wanted to wake up, to hug Stoick, to let him know that he loved him too. He focused all his efforts on making his hand move, on just trying to give the lightest squeeze he could, to show him that yes, yes he was going to make it through this. He heard Toothless whine, his head moved slightly, more than likely to look at Hiccup. He didn’t realize that his hand finally did what he wanted it too until he heard Stoick take in a breath.

 

“Hiccup, my boy. Thank Odin. Toothless look.”

 

He felt Toothless get off his legs, a moment passed and the next his hand was being licked, Stoick yelled out in surprise, yanking his hand out of Hiccups.

 

“You lousy dragon!”

 

Stoick laughed, placing his hand on Hiccup’s forehead.

 

“I think that Toothless wants you to wake up the most, he misses you so much.”

 

Hiccup, now having known control over his hand, stretched his hand out, Toothless placing his head in it. He didn’t have much more control than that, his body still refused to do anything he wanted him too. But knowing that both Toothless and his dad were there, waiting for him to fully wake up, cheered him up more than words could describe.

 

A while later after Hiccup had fallen back asleep Stoick had gone about his day, letting Astrid and the other riders know that Hiccup had woken up barely, earlier in the day. He fetched Gothi to take a look at him. She said that she was more than surprised that Hiccup was even able to do that much, from the amount of blood he lost, and the sheer state of his body, he shouldn’t have woken up quite as soon as he did, if at all.

 

That was the one thing about Gothi, she was direct and never really fiddled with the truth. Being the village elder and the healer allowed her that sort of look on life without people getting too torn up about it. Toothless still refused to leave Hiccups side, especially since he knew that Hiccup could really wake up at any moment.

 

A few more days passed with Hiccup still sleeping. The village concern about his death lifted a little bit, knowing that at the very least, he was alive enough to come to consciousness for those few minutes.

* * *

 

When Hiccup opened his eyes, he squinted at the candle light in the room. Despite it not being too terribly bright, it still hurt. His head still pounded, and his side was still in so much pain it was really hard to focus on much else. He looked down to his legs, smiling. There was Toothless, asleep. He tested his arm, finding it much easier to control his body now. As gently as he could, he placed it on Toothless’ head, giving him a gentle rub. It took a moment for Toothless to wake up, but when he did, all hell broke loose. He roared, and jumped on the bed, licking Hiccup’s face.

 

Hiccup grunted, it seemed Toothless had barely just missed stepping on his side, whether that was out of sheer luck or on purpose he didn’t know.

 

“Hey bud, I missed you. How’ve you been.”

 

Toothless nudged his face. It must have been dragon for ‘a lot’.

 

“Why don’t you go get my dad?”

 

Toothless gave Hiccup one more parting lick before jumping off the bed and out the window. He ran as fast as he could, towards the great hall where Stoick usually was this time of day. He burst through the door, nearly pouncing the people that were in the way. He ran through and up to Stoick, jumping around.

 

“Toothless what is it?”

 

He bit down on Stoicks hand, pulling him towards the direction of his hut.

 

“Thank the gods.”

 

Stoick yelled an apology to the people before running out with Toothless towards where his son was waiting. He burst through the front door, nearly sliding into the bedroom that housed Hiccup.

 

“Hey dad.”

 

Stoick was at his bedside in moments, leaning over to give Hiccup a hug.

 

“Hiccup. Oh gods Hiccup. I thought… I thought I was going to lose you too.”

 

Stoick let go, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

 

“I’m glad to see you’re doing alright. How long have I been out?”

 

“Two and a half weeks. With several scares in between. Gothi didn’t seem to think you had a chance of survival. That knife wound seemed more than just puncture.”

 

“Ah yeah. I didn’t pull the knife out for a while, ended up having to fight with it in my side. Not the smartest move on my part, I know.”

 

Stoick just sighed, watching as Toothless climbed onto the bed to lay on Hiccup’s good side.

 

“I’m just glad you’re alive, it seems Toothless agrees with me.”

 

Hiccup smiled, petting Toothless.

 

“Sorry I scared you bud, I’m gonna be alright now, I promise.”

 

Hiccup looked up to the ceiling taking a moment.

 

“I really messed up this time. If it weren’t for Toothless finding me when he did, I would have been dead. Toothless is the real hero in this story.”

 

“Son, it happens. Don’t think I haven’t come away from a battle thinking the exact same thing. We’re Vikings, it’s an occupational hazard.”

 

Hiccup chuckled, looking over to his dad.

 

“How are the other riders?”

 

“All fine, and all miss you. Yes, even Snotlout. Astrid probably the most. She was here a couple of times when you stopped breathing. That’s a sight I wish I could have lived without, on both of your parts.”

 

Hiccup moved his arm, placing his hand on Stoicks.

 

“But I’m here now dad, I’m in a world of pain, but at least I’m here.”

 

Stoick got up, giving Hiccup’s hand a squeeze.

 

“I’ll go tell the riders you’re awake and get something from Gothi to ease the pain.”

 

“Thanks dad. Do you mind also getting me something to eat? I’m starving.”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

Stoick left, leaving Hiccup alone. His main concern was what he was going to say to Astrid. Frankly, he didn’t have a clue. He remembered what it was like to nearly lose Astrid, and this was the second time in a matter of years that he had gotten severely injured. A few minutes passed before he heard footsteps, Astrid calling to him as she came into the room.

 

“Hiccup, thank god.”

 

Much like Stoick, Astrid came over at gave Hiccup a hug, this one lasting much longer.

 

“If you weren’t in such a sorry state, I’d punch you.”

 

“I guess I’ll have to thank Johann for that.”

 

Astrid sighed, moving to look Hiccup in the eyes, their noses nearly touching.

 

“I’m so glad you’re alive. I… I was lost for a while, didn’t know what to do. Hiccup, I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t want to imagine a world without you.”

 

“Don’t fear Astrid, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

 

“No, but it seems you’re going to try your best.”

 

Hiccup just smiled, using an arm to pull Astrid’s head down those few centimeters to kiss her. One thing was certain in this world, he loved Astrid with every fiber of his being, and he hated to make her worry, hated to make anyone worry for that matter.

 

The other riders came in a while later, cheering. Hiccup was awake and alive. They all stood around talking for a while, Stoick coming in and giving Hiccup some food, water, and medicine, helping him sit up as much as his body would allow. He was confined to his bed for another couple of days. Eventually he got restless and just started using Toothless to get around the village, no one seemed to mind, except well Gothi and Astrid. But he hated just lying there with nothing to do.

 

Another week passed before he could actually stand on his own, the wound healing. He was going to have a nasty scar, but it would be worth it. He saved all of dragon kind, just for this moment, and he was going to revel in it. Once Hiccup was well enough, they all took one last flight out to Dragon’s Edge to gather their things. They didn’t need to stay there anymore. Berk needed them. Over the past year they had gone on so many adventures, they had met and trained so many new dragon species. All of them had gotten a year older, and most of them had gotten wiser. He wouldn’t change anything that happened for the world.


End file.
